Dispensing apparatus



June 22, 1943. 4 J SWEETLAND 2,322,552

DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 29, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEN TOR. 3

June 22, 1943. E. J. SWEETLAND 5 DISPENSING APPARATUS Filedpct. 29, 19405 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIIS IN V EN TOR.

E. J. SWEETLAND DISPENSING APPARATUS June 22, 1943.

Filed Oct. 29, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN V EN TOR.

June 22, 1943. E. J. SWEETLAND 2,322,552

DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 29, 1940 5 Sheets-Shee t 4 I I I IN V ENTOR.

Filed Oct. 29, 1940 s Sheets-Sheet 5 FIES 7 I N V EN TOR.

Patented June 22, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DISPENSING APPARATUSErnest J. Sweetland, Piedmont, Calif.

Application October 29, 1940, Serial No. 363,303

8 Claims.

This invention relates to means for dispensing dressings and especiallymoist dressings, moist wash cloths and the like.

A particular object of my invention is to provide a dispensing apparatusdesigned to preserve moist dressings and moist cloths in a sanitarycondition free from evaporation for an indefinite period of time and todispense the same in suitably metered quantities by the automatic meansherein described.

A further object is to provide a dispensing apparatus with a sealed gatemechanism which is normally maintained in closed position, but whichautomatically opens when a portion of fabric is to be dispensed, andautomatically closes thereafter, whereby the contents of the dispensingunit are protected from contamination and preserved in a manner thatprevents evaporation and deterioration from atmospheric action.

The invention possesses other advantageous features, some of which withthe foregoing, will be set forth at length in the following descriptionwhere I shall outline in full that form of my invention which I haveselected for illustration in the drawings accompanying and forming partof the present specification. In said drawings, 1 have shown one form ofmy invention, but it is to be understood that I do not limit myself tosuch form since my invention is capable of various modifications whichare limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure l is a sectional front elevation of my dispensing apparatus.

Figure 2 is ,a side elevation of pawl and rachet arrangement and istaken on the line 2--2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of my dispensing apparatus showing thecasing thereof in vertical section. This view is taken on the line 33 ofFig. 1.

Figure 4'is a vertical sectional elevation showing certain of themechanical parts of my dis-' Referring in detail to Figure 1, numeral lrepresents a metal housing which is secured to the base member 2 to forman air tight joint by means of the gasket or sealing material 3. 4 and4a represent the side plates which constitute the framework of thedispensing mechanism. These plates are rigidly maintained in spacedrelation by means of the spacing bars 5, 5a and 51). At the top of theside plates, a pair of supporting arms 6 and 6a are supported by meansof the pivots 'l and la in a manner to permit radial movement of thearms 6 and Ba numeral [2a, the outer layer of which, shown at.

62 is fed downwardly through the dispensing mechanism. This fabric maybe rolled up in single layer in the manner customary for ordinarybandages or it may be folded over into a plurality of layers as isindicated in Fig. 8 which represents a sectional view on the line 8-8 ofFig. 1, of the fabric folded in a 3-ply thickness.

' Obviously it may be folded in as many plies as required in order toproduce a cloth of the desired dimensions after it is dispensed andopened up for use.

I3 is the metering roll which is clearly shown in side elevation in Fig.4 and in section in Fig. 5. This metering roll is revolvably mounted onthe shaft M. The rachet I5 is secured to the side of the metering roll13. The pawl l6 controls the movement of the rachet, l5 and the meteringroll 13 to prevent backward movement thereof. The bar I! carries thebrake shoe 3 which'bears upon the brake wheel I!) which is more clearlyshown in Fig. 4. This brake wheel is integral with the metering roll l3and prevents over-travel of the metering roll that might otherwise occurdue to inertia. II is the pawl-carrying disc, the hub of which is fixedto the shaft I4 by means of the pin 22 (Fig. 1). The wheel 23 which isactuated by the pawl 24 (Fig. 2) is integral with the brake drum l9 andthe metering wheel l3 so that these parts and the rachet wheel 15 willmove together. The pinion 25 is keyed to the shaft M by the pin 25awhich passes through its hub so that the movement of the pinion drivesthe pawl-carrying wheel 2| and movement is imparted to the metering rollby engagement of the pawl 24 in the notch 2! of the wheel 2-3 (see Fig.2). The spring 28 maintains a constant tension on the lever ii whichcarries the brake shoe E8.

The pinion 25 is driven by the gear 3! which is fixed t the shaft 32.The shaft 32 i connected by tooth 32a to stub shaft 321) which passesthrough a stuffing box 34 in order to maintain an air-tight seal wherthe shaft passes through the casing. The stub shaft 32b is fixed to theoperating lever 33 which is-held in operating position by the clip 33a.This clip is e cured to the housing I by means of screws 33b. The freeouter end of the clip 33a is provided with a slot which fits into agroove located at on the horizontal portion of the operating lever. Theobject of the clip 33a is to hold the operating lever in the positionshown and it is so arranged that the horizontal shank of the lever isfree to rotate in the slot while the clip prevents the lever and itsattendant shaft 32b from working out of place. When it is desired toremove the casing I from the mechanism to service the unit, the screws331) are removed whereupon the lever 33 and shaft 32b may be movedoutwardly to disengage the tooth 32a. The casing I which is held tightlyagainst the base member 2 by any convenient means (not shown) may thenbe removed.

Referring again to the metering roll l3' it will be noted that the idlerroller 52 mounted on shaft (see Figs. 4 and 5) which cooperates with themetering roll is provided with a grooved rubber cover 52 whichoo-actswith the metering roll in feeding the strip of cloth downwardly.Thegrooves 52a accommodate the vertical track or guidemembers 53- whichserve as a guide for the-strip l2' as it'feeds downwardly through therolls. I have found it desirable-to have these track guide members 53pass through thegrooves 4 8" of the metering roll and grooves 52a of theidler because the moistened cloth strip slides freely upon theedges ofthe guides 53, and the cloth is always maintained in position, and it isprevented from sticking to the surfaces of the roll.

The gear 3|- (Figs. 1 and 3) serves the double purpose of actuating thepinion 25 and the rack 54. This rack, as will be seen by reference toFig; 3 is mounted in the guide and is supported-at its outer end' by thepost 56. In the top of post 56 is a groove 51 through'which the rack 54slides freely in its backward and forward motion. The object of the rack55' is'to' transmit motion that is applied to the hand lever 33 to theshears which serve to cut off the metered strip of cloth; This shearmovement will be understood by reference to' Figures 3 and 6, the latterof which shows a horizontal view of the shears taken on the line 66 ofFigure 1. The block 58 (Fig. 3) is fixed to the rack 54 and in the lowerside of this block is post 59 which passes through the slot 6i in thepart 62'. The post 59 is'slidably secured to the part 62 by means of thescrew 63. At the left hand end of'the part 62 is" a hole which receivesthe end of the post 6'4: The screw 65 holds part 62 in its pivotalmounting on post 641 The lower end of post 65' is welded to or isotherwise made integral with the movable shear arm 65.

The shear mechanism which is actuated by movement of the arm 66 consistsof a pair of shear blades H and 12 pivotally secured together by thepin-1 3' (s'ee' Fig. 6), the blade H being stathrough the fabric.

dispensed.

tionarily mounted while 12 is caused to move and render a shearingaction against H by a movement of post i i. The post 64 not onlycommunicates rotary movement to th arm 66 about the axis 13, but sincethis post has the power applied at its upper end, it has the effect,when the strip of cloth is between the shear blades, of biasing theshear blade to which it is connected in such manner as to hold thecutting edges of the shear blades in close shearing-contacts with eachother to cause the shears to cut to the best advantage at all times.This action is quite important, as without this bias action shear bladesof this type will bind and may even fail entirely to cut Beneath theshear blades is the chute M which guides the cloth that is cut from thestrip downwardly out of the dispensing opening 15 onto the shelf 15.

It is understood that the cloth to be dispensed may be untreated, or itmay be medicated or moistened with any desired fiuid depending upon thepurposes for which it is to be used. The cloth may, for instance, bemoistened with water containing soap in solution in addition to anydesired agent for disinfecting ormedicating the cloth. In someinstances, the fluid used may be ofa highly volatile nature and for thisreason it is.

desirable to preclude th possibility of evaporation during storage ofthe treated cloth or other 1 fabric, such as paper, that may bedispensed from the apparatus; To carry out these objects, I

provide the only opening to the casing of the apparatus with a valve orgate which automatically closes as soon as a piece of the fabric isSince the only opening through which evaporation could occur is at 15,Fig. 4, I locate the valve or gate at the upper end of the chute 14- inthe manner illustrated in detail. The walls of the chuteare air-tight toprevent evaporation from the interior of the casing. At the-upper end ofthe chute 14* is gasket Hi which is secured to the top of the chute. Thevalve plate 17 is secured to the arm 18, which i slidably mounted withinthe guide 19. An upright cam follower 8| is integral with the arm 18 andthisis acted upon by the cam 82 which is driven by the chain 83 from thesprocket 86 which isthe valve remains-open until the cloth is cut offand dispensed; when it returns to the closed position and securely sealsthe only opening in the casing, thus preventing'eva-poration orcontamination.

The operation of the apparatus above describedis as follows: A roll ofprepared fabric such as gauze or Canton flannel, or any otherfabricsuitable for the purpose including certain types of absorbentpaper, is mounted on the reel I I whichfor convenience is so constructedthat it is easily dismounted from the apparatus and the side platesseparated to receive the roll of cloth or' other fabric. This ispreferably folded into' the form shown in cross-section in Fig. 8 beforebeing formed into a roll. The cloth may be moistened or medicated eitherbefore or after being formed into the roll, at the option of themanufacturer. The outer end of the strip: of rolled fabric isthenthreaded into the machine. The end is threaded downwardlythrough thechutewhich is formed by the slats 53 and the side plates 53a which isconstructed as shown in cross-section in Fig. 5. The slats 53 form aguide for the strip of cloth, the openings between them permitting roll|3 and the grooved rubber cover 52 of the idler 5| to enter through thewalls of the chute to feed the strip of cloth in its downward course. Inthreading the machine ready for operation, the loose end of the fabricstrip is fed by hand down the chute 53a until the lower end approachesthe shear blades H and 12. This, of course, is done while the cover isremoved from the machine, thelever 33 being removed for this purpose.When the cover is replaced the gaskets 3 or any other suitable ensealingmeans makes the casing a substantially air-tight structure.

To vend a metered section of the fabric, the operator pulls the lever 33forward through an arc of 90 when the arm 86a (Fig. 3) strikes asuitable stop 86b. The travel of arm 86a is limited on the return strokeby stop 9|]. The forward movement of lever 33 first of all causes thecam 82 to strike the follower 8| and open the'valve 11, leaving the topof the shaft 14 wideopen to receive the fabric strip when it is feddownwardly. While this is taking place the metering roll I3 is rotatingin a clockwise direction and since 180 of the surface of this meteringroll is cut away there is a slight delay in its action of feeding thestrip downwardly. This provides the time lag required to give valve 11time to open. As soon as the grooved metering roll l3, which has ahorizontally corrugated surface to prevent slippage, revolves throughabout one-third of a circle, its grooved surface, which enters the chuteformed by slat members 53 and side plate 53a, engages the strip of clothand presses it against the soft rubber surface 52' of the idler 5|, andthe cloth feeds downwardly until the metering roll l3 reaches the end ofits effective bearing surface. While this action is taking place thestrip of cloth advances between the shear blades H and 12 and passesinto the chute 74. The mechanism is so timed that the shear bladesremain stationary while the cloth strip is advancing, but as soon as theeffective stroke of the metering roll is completed the shear blade 12starts to advance to out off the metered strip of cloth. This isaccomplished by rotation of the gear 3| which engages the rack 54causing the pin 59 to move in the slot 6| until it reaches the end ofthe slot 6|, whereupon the pin 59 imparts motion to the part 62, whichin turn moves the post 64 and the shear arm 66 to which it is attached,thus causing the shear blade 12 to close against blade H to shear offthe fabric which then drops down the chute I4 onto the shelf 16.

It will be understood that the action of the metering roll I3 iscomparatively rapid due to the relatively small size of the pinion ascompared with gear 3| and that the action of the shear is delayed by thepin 59 having to travel the length of the slot 6| before it takes effectupon the part 62. When the forward stroke of the lever 33 is completed,the lever is released and the spring 88 returns it to its place inreadiness for another operation. During this return stroke the lever 86hits the lug 81 which is integral with the part 62, pushing the part 62toward the left to open the shear blades. This rapid opening motion ofthe shear blade 72 quickly releases the cloth in the event any of thefibers tend to adhere to the shear blades. During the return stroke thegear 3| returns the rack 54 and its attendant parts back to its originalposition and at the same f5;

time the valve TI is closed by the action of spring 85.

Figure 2 is a detail view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, which shows how thedrive is effected between the shaft I4 and the metering roll |3. Thedisc 2| which carries the pawl 24 is fixed to the shaft |4 while thedisc 23 which is provided with notch 21 is fixed to the metering rolll3, the latter being free to rotate around shaft M. This arrangementmaintains the proper timing of the metering roll in the event thatthrough improper operation the lever 33 is moved forward withouttraversing its complete stroke. The object of the brake lever H, whichby means of spring 28 maintains the brake shoe l8 against the hub of themetering roll, is to prevent overdrive of the metering roll.

It will be understood that when the lever 33 returns to normal position,after an operation is completed, the cam 82 allows the follower 8| andslide 18 to be returned by spring 85 to closed position and the valve 11is thus closed to form an air-tight seal for the casing.

An important feature of the machine described is that the chute 74through which the cloth is dispensed is of greater length than themetered section of cloth. The cloth therefore does not appear throughthe opening 15 until it has been severed by the shear blades and allowedto fall. If it were not for this feature, it would be possible to pullthe lever 33 down part way and then grasp the end of the cloth and pullout an extended length before shearing it off. Such procedure is notdesirable and would interfere with the correct operation of the machinewhich is to deliver uniform, metered sections of fabric. This isespecially the case in the event the machine is equipped withcoin-control for vending purposes.

The shelf 16 provides a convenient place for the piece of metered fabricto be caught and at the same time it serves as a guard against tamperingwith the interior of the machine.

The foregoing description relates to a machine designed to carry rollsof fabric that have been moistened prior to their being placed in themachine.

A modified form of my invention is illustrated in Fig. '7. This machineis similar to the appara. tus described above as regards the clothmetering and cutting mechanism but is so designed that the fabric may beloaded into the machine in dry form to be moistened or medicated by aspray of suitable liquid during the dispensing process.

In this modification I provide the air cylinder |0| which is equippedwith the piston I82 fixed to an extension of the rack 54. The piston isprovided with a packing ring 403 and air vent I04 which during theforward stroke of the piston is covered by the valve I35, which, beingof flexible material, opens during the reverse stroke of the piston toallow air to enter the cylinder. I36 is a fluid tank which, through thetube Mil, leads to the atomizer nozzle I08. The tube I99 leads from thecylinder I! to an outlet it which completes the atomizer nozzle. In theoperation of this machine, metering and cutting of the fab ric strip iseffected as hereinbei'ore described. While the cloth is advancingbetween the shear blades, air is compressed in the cylinder Ii?! by theforward movement of the piston 5E2. The air thus compressed dischargesthrough the air outlet I I0 thus drawing fluid out of the tank tilt andproducing an atomizing action to spray the fabric while it is being feddownwardly through the chute 14a. In this description and theaccompanying drawings, I have illustrated a conven tional type ofatomizer but it is within the province of my invention to provide othermeans for spraying or otherwise moistening the piece of fabric justprior to dispensing it from the machine. The specific design of atomizeror other moistening means is immaterial so long as it carries out theobject of moistening the fabric before it is dispensed.

The invention herein described is capable of a great variety ofdifierent uses. It may be used for dispensing moistened or medicatedwashcloths for any purpose whatsoever. They may be used in first-aidstations for dispensing sterile medicated dressings, and they may beused for various purposes in toilet rooms.

In other modifications of the invention, the cloth may be treated with acleaning fluid such as carbon tetra-chloride and used for removing spotsfrom clothing, or suitable solvents may be used for the removal ofmake-up etc. Whatever the use, the air-sealed casing of the apparatuspreserves the fabric in its original condition free from contaminationand evaporation.

Any well known type of coin control may be adapted to the machine incases where it is desired to use the apparatus for vending purposes.

In the appended claims the terms dressings or moist dressings are usedto designate whatever materials might be dispensed by the machine inaccordance with the foregoing description.

Th term valve as used in the claims and specification of thisapplication is intended to define a door or gate or valve of any kindcapable of tightly closing the dispensing aperture.

. I claim:

1. An apparatus for dispensing strip material which comprisesasubstantially air-tight casing; means to support a supply of stripmaterial in said casing; means for measuring a pre-determined lengthfrom said supply of strip material; shear means to out 01f said measuredlength; a chute having a passageway to receive the measured length fromsaid strip and to conduct same to a dispensing aperture in said casing;the passageway through said chute being of greater length than saidmeasured strip whereby said strip is protected until it is sheared fromsaid supply; valve means to control the passageway through said chute;and actuating means co-acting with said measuring means and saidvalvemeans to cause said valve means to function in timed relation withsaid measuring means.

2. An apparatus for dispensing moist dressings comprising asubstantially air-tight casing; means to support a supply of moist stripdressing material within said casing; metering means to feed a meteredportion of said dressing toward a dispensing aperture in said casing; aconduit in said casing to receive said metered portion and guide thesame toward a dispensing aperture; shear means arranged and constructedto shear off said metered portion after it enters said conduit; valvemeans to control the opening in said conduit; control means external tosaid conduit to control the operation of said metering means, said shearmeans and said valve; means for operating said valve means in timedrelation with said shear and metering means whereby said valve is openedto admit a metered portion of said supply into said conduit and isclosed after said metered portion is sheared ofi of said supply; andsaid valve means being located at one end of said conduit and saiddispensing aperture at the opposite end thereof.

'3. An apparatus for dispensing strip material which comprises asubstantially air-tight casing; a dispensing aperture in said casing;means within said casing to support a supply of strip material; valvemeans to open and close said dispensing aperture; shear means to cut offa portion of said strip material; means controllable from the exteriorof said casing to feed said strip material through said aperture and tooperate said shear means; means co-acting with said exteriorlycontrolled means for opening said valve means to allow the exit of aportion of strip material from said casing and for closing said valvemeans after said portion of strip material has passed through saidvalve.

4. An apparatus for dispensing moist dressings comprising an air-tightcasing; means within said casing to support a supply of strip dressingmaterial; an aperture for dispensing dressings from said casing;actuating means within said casing to feed said strip dressing materialthrough said aperture; shear means within said casing to out 01f aportion of said strip material; a valve within said casing to form asubstantially air-tight seal for said aperture; a lever external to saidcasing to actuate said shear means and said valve; means connected withsaid lever to open said Valve during the initial part of the normaloperating stroke of said lever and to shear said strip of dressingduring a portion of the stroke of said lever after said valve has beenopened; means to restore said lever to its original position and toclose said valve after a portion of dressing has been dispensed.

5. An apparatus for dispensing strip material which comprises asubstantially air-tight casing; means to support a supply of stripmaterial in said casing; means for measuring a pre-determined length ofstrip material from said supply; shear means to cut off said measuredlength; a valved aperture in said casing through which to discharge saidmeasured length of strip material; actuating means to feed said stripmaterial past said shear means and through said aperture; means foropening and closing said valved aperture; connecting means between saidactuating means and the means for opening said valve to cause said valveto open and close in timed relation with said actuating means.

6. An apparatus for dispensing strip material which comprises a casing;-a dispensing aperture in said casing; means within said casing tosupport a supply of strip material; means for measuring a pre-determinedlength of said strip material; shear means to cut off a portion of saidstrip material; a chute to receive a measured strip of material andconduct the same to the dispensing aperture; said chute being greater inlength than the measured length of strip material; means mounted uponsaid casing and controllable from the exterior thereof to actuate saidmeasuring means and said shear means; means co-acting with saidexteriorly controlled means for moistening the measured strip ofmaterial during its pass'ageway'through said chute.

7. An apparatus for dispensing dressings comprising an air-tight casing;means within said casing to support a supply of strip material; adispensing aperture in said casing; means to feed said strip materialfrom said supply toward said aperture; a normally closed valve tocontrol said aperture; shear means within said casing to cut function intimed relation with said feeding means; means connecting said shearmeans with said actuating means to cause said shear means to cut off aportion of said strip material while said valve is in open position.

8. An apparatus for dispensing dressings comprising an air-tight casing;means within said casing to support a supply of strip material; adispensing aperture in said casing; means to feed said strip materialfrom said supply toward said aperture; a normally closed valve tocontrol said aperture; shear means within said casing to cut off aportion of said strip material; actuating means co-acting with saidfeeding means and said valve means to cause said valve means to functionin timed relation with said feeding means; means connecting said shearmeans with said actuating means to cause said shear means to cut off aportion of said strip material while said valve is in open position;means co-acting with said actuating means to spray a fluid upon saidstrip while it is being fed from said supply by said feeding means.

ERNEST J. SWEETLAND.

